Brassiere construction



July 28, 1970 J. L. JORDAN BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION Filed March 14, 1968 mr w L a W J INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,521,642 BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION Jules L. Jordan,59 Alta Drive, LaSelva Beach. Calif. 95076 Filed Mar. 14, 1968, Ser. No.713,116 Int. Cl. A41c 3/10 US. Cl. 128-479 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A brassiere construction having a laterally extending tunnelforming attachment extending from the breast cup seam or the lateralborder of the pectoralis major muscle toward the axilla so as to relievepressure over the lateral thoracic artery therefore allowing free flowof blood through the underlying blood vessels which form the externalsupply of blood to the mammary gland.

The use of brassieres results in various advantages such as supportingand shaping the;breasts.'*However, by their very nature, brassiersrestrict the flow of blood due to applying pressure to the exteriorsurface areas of the chest cavity,-'mammary glands and associated areas.For example, the edge of the breast cup which is disposed laterally andalong the outer surface of the mammary gland which has the chest;encircling strap or band at-' border of the'pectoralis major muscleand-extend lateral- 1y toward-the axilla with'the'device having a flatperiphery, a concave undersurface and a convex outer surface whichtapers to the end of the device remote from the brassiere cup to providesupport for the outer periphery of the brassiere cup and the adjacentportions of the chest strap from surfaces of the body spaced from thelateral thoracic artery thereby reducing pressure thereon and permittingfree flow of blood through the underlying vessels.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forrelieving pressure on the lateral thoracic artery which may beincorporated in the brassiere at the time it is manufactured and mayvary in shape and size governed by the size and shape of that portion ofthe mammary gland which extends beyond the border seam of the brassierecup. The device may be constructed of various materials although it hasbeen found that shapesustaining but yet flexible plastic materials maybe employed so that the brassiere may be laundered in the usual mannerand stored in the usual manner.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide abrassiere construction with the attachment of the present inventionincorporated therein which is simple in construction, easy toincorporate into the brassiere construction at any time, etfective forits particular purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brassiere with the present inventionincorporated therein;

3,521,642 Patented July 28, 1970 FIG. 2 is a detailed, sectional viewtaken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 2--2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 3-3 of FIG. 2 illustrating the supportingrelationship of the device incorporated into the brassiere;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one form of the pressure relievingdevice; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another form of the pressure relievingdevice.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates the brassiere construction of the present invention which maybe any suitable type of conventional brassiere which includes a pair ofbreast cups 12 supported by a chest strap 14 and a pair of shoulderstraps 16. The particular construction of the straps 14 and 16 as wellas the cups 12 may vary and the specific structural features thereofform no particular part of the present invention except for therelationship of the insert device therewith. As illustrated, the frontof the chest strap 14 which extends under the breast cup 12 may beprovided with an elastic insert 18 and a center seam 20 interconnectsthe breast cups 12. The rear of the chest strap 14 is provided with theusual detachable fasteners and the shoulder strap 16 may be detachableor adjustable by buckle structures 22 or the like. As is well known, theperiphery of the cups 12 designated by numeral 24 where they areattached to the chest encircling strap 14 exert pressure on the exteriorsurface of the body of the wearer 26 with the pressure area generallybeing designated by numeral 28 in FIG. 2. This pressure at the areawhere the mammary gland extends outwardly from the-body surface of thewearer includes the lateral thoracic artery and the pressure exerted bythe cup seam or edge 24 and the adjacent portion of the chest strap 14exerts external pressure on the thoracic artery thus reducing blood flowto the mammary gland designated by numeral 30.

For reducing this pressure, this invention includes an insert device 32constructed of shape-sustaining material such as plastic or the likewhich may be rigid or sufficiently flexible to enable launderingthereof. The insert device 32 includes an elongated main body 34 havingan arcuate configuration and provided with a convex outer surface and aconcave inner surface designated by numerals 36 and 38 respectively andtapers from an open end to a closed end designated by numeral 40'.Peripherally of the insert is a fiat peripheral flange 42 which extendsaround the closed end 40 and up to the open end of the insert devicethus providing an open ended tunnel in which the open end thereof isdisposed in alignment with the inner border of the outer cup seam oredge 24 in overlying relation to the lateral border of the pectoralicmajor muscle so that pressure exerted along the area 28 on the lateralthoracic artery is relieved and the support for the chest strap isprovided by engagement of the flange 42 with the wearer 26 along an areagenerally designated by numeral 44 in FIG. 3 with it being noted thatthe area of the body between the flanges 42 in FIG. 3 is relieved ofpressure thus enabling free flow of blood through the underlying vesselswhich form the external supply of blood to the mammary gland 30.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the insert device generallydesignated by the numeral 46 which includes a main body panel 48 havinga convex outer surface 50 and a concave inner surface 52 with the closedend and side edges thereof being generally in the form of a semi-circlewith a peripheral flange 54 provided thereon so that the free edge ofthe main body panel is spaced away from the surface of the body of thewearer. In

3 this construction, the edge of the main body panel 48 as designated by56 is arcuate generally conforming With the arcuate curvature of theperiphery of the breast cup.

The insert device is constructed so that it can be easily incorporatedinto a brassiere at the time it is being manufactured or after it hasbeen completed..The insert device will be placed so that its open endwill align with the inner border of the cup seam and the lateral borderof the pectoralic major muscle and extend laterally toward the axilla.The size and shape of the insert device is governed by the size andshape of that portion of the mammary gland which extends beyond theborder seam of the brassiere cup which is generally that area indicatedby dotted line in FIG. 1.

This device assures that the portion of the mammary gland which itcovers is free from the pressure that can be applied to it by aconventional brassiere, this relief of pressure in turn guarantees thatunderlying blood vessels such as the thoracic artery are not impingedupon.

This insert device can be constructed of any shape retaining materialthat will Withstand frequent laundering or the like and in effect formsa tunnel which has a peripheral flat surface that defines a supportingbase. The main body of the device is concave from the undersurface andconvex on the outer surface with the open end shaped in an upward angleso as to blend with the angle of the mammary gland as it grows outwardfrom the chest wall. The device will be placed in the brassieregenerally occupying the area indicated by dotted line in FIG. 1 whichalso represents the extension of the mammary gland beyond the brassierecup 12.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described with abrassiere having shoulder straps, it is within the purview of thisinvention to incorporate the tunnel forming construction into straplessbrassieres and other types of breast supporting and shaping devices.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a brassiere having breast supporting cups and achest encircling band attached thereto, an insert device comprising ashape-sustaining shallow channel forming member having one edge thereofsubstantially aligned with a portion of the periphery of the breast cupwhere it is attached to the chest band and extending laterally away fromsaid breast cup and underlying a portion of said chest band to support aportion of the chest band away from the body surface to relieve pressureon the mammary gland and underlying blood vessels such as the lateralthoracic artery disposed thereunder.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said insert device isconstructed of shape retaining material capable of being launderedwithout damage and including a flat periphery around the portion of thedevice disposed laterally of the brassiere cup to engage the bodysurface and support the chest band therefrom.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said insert device istransversely arcuate provided with a concave undersurface and convexouter surface and tapering from an open end aligned with the peripheryof the breast cup to a closed end thereby defining an open-ended tunnelextending laterally outwardly from the periphery of the breast cup forsupporting the periphery of the breast cup and chest strap in such amanner to relieve pressure from that portion of the mammary gland whichextends laterally beyond the breast cup and the underlying bloodvessels.

4. The combination as defined in claim 3 wherein said insert device issubstantially semi-circular in configuration with the open-ended edgethereof being concavely arcuate.

5. The combination as defined in claim 3 wherein said insert device issubstantially semi-elliptical in configuration with the open end thereofbeing substantially straight.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,764,759 10/1956 Gazelle 1284622,896,623 7/1959 Fitzgerald 128-280 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R.

